Food And Fuel Are Getting Pricier

Last month, retail inflation meaning cereal, eggs, vegetable and fruits, clothes, and, fuel, and basically everything that we mostly care about, weighed heavily on our pockets. It surpassed RBI’s expectations and according to RBI’s projection, inflation is likely to stay high for next six months as well. But, did we hear anything about rise in personal incomes, yet?

Why is it important? It is another marker of the importance that India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani has placed for his telecom venture, which continues to indulge in tariff wars initiated by it over a year ago when it was launched. This comes at a time when incumbents are trying to battle against the newest entrant’s competitive tariffs and their high debt levels even as they continue to witness plunging profits or losses. Jio is likely to improve its financial performance before it goes for the stake sale.

Tell me more: At the end of October, Reliance Jio had 145 million subscribers to be the fourth-largest telecom operator in the country.

4.88%

What is it? The rate at which India’s annual retail inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, increased in November from a year ago.

Why is important? This is the fastest pace in 15 months, driven by an increase in fuel and food prices. This has exceeded the Reserve Bank of India’s medium-term target of 4%. Last week, the central bank had kept key interest rates unchanged due to inflationary concerns and also raised its inflation projection to 4.3-4.7% for the six months ending March 2018.

Tell me more: The government released a separate set of data on Tuesday, which showed that growth in industrial output slowed to 2.2% in October from an upwardly revised 4.14% in September.

37.7 million bales

What is it? India’s estimated cotton production in 2017-18, according to the Cotton Advisory Board. One bale is equivalent to about 170 kg.

Why is it important? Although this would be an increase of about 9% over last year’s 34.5 million bales, it would fall short of the record 40 million bales that industry analysts were expecting. This is due to pink bollworm infestation in India’s key cotton-growing regions of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka, and is likely to boost exports of other major cotton exporters such as the US, Brazil and Australia.

Tell me more: In recent years, Indian farmers have switched to Monsanto’s Bt cotton, which increased yields and helped India become the world’s second-largest cotton exporter. However, according to scientists, pink bollworms are developing resistance to the genetically modified seeds.

1969

What is it? The number of trips that a customer of cab-hailing app Uber in the National Capital Region has taken in 2017 so far, or an average of about six trips a day. That’s the maximum number of trips recorded by a customer of Uber India.

Why is it important? It underscores the importance of the Delhi NCR market, which has emerged as the biggest market in India for the cab-hailing app and is one of the sites for the bruising fight between Uber and Ola. Such data-based facts and trivia were released by Uber India, as part of documenting a year gone by. It said that 6 Pm was the busiest hour for its drivers, Friday the most hectic day and August 11 (pre-independence day Friday) the day it recorded the most rides.

Tell me more: Indian customers hailed a Uber cab in 566 cities across 80 nations. Uber also launched a feature that lets customers review their 2017 set to a music video.

20

What is it? The number of centuries that Chris Gayle has scored in the T20 format, his latest effort helping the Rangpur Riders win the Bangladesh Premier League on Tuesday.

Why is it important? Gayle is the first batsman to reach 20 centuries in the T20 format. He is also leaps ahead of other batsmen in the centurion list. The next best is 7 centuries (Michael Klinger, Luke Wright and Brendon McCullum). The best Indian in the list is Virat Kohli, with 4 centuries.

Tell me more: Chris Gayle, the modern-day archetype of a free-agent cricketer, has played 320 T20 matches, across 22 teams. He called Tuesday’s knock—in which he racked up 146 not out in 69 balls, including 18 sixes—as one of his top five knocks.